Resolution on Certificate of Need (CON) Laws Required for the Establishment of Certain Health Care Services

Model Resolution

WHEREAS, Certificate of Need (CON) laws and similar programs are prominent government-imposed barriers to entry into the health care market that force health care firms to fulfill various over-burdensome requirements to obtain state permission to provide certain services; and

WHEREAS, Government-imposed barriers to entry into the health care market thwart access to quality care and healthy competition by preventing and/or delaying entities from bringing new technologies into certain geographical regions; and

WHEREAS, Barriers to entry stifle competition in the health care arena by not allowing services to follow the demand of patients and payors; and

WHEREAS, The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, in a joint statement, noted that CON laws “impede the efficient performance of health care markets” and “pose serious anticompetitive risks that usually outweigh their purported economic benefits”; and

WHEREAS, CON laws derive their origin from a repealed federal law (The National Planning and Resources Development Act of 1974) that advocated for the establishment of CON laws based on the then-current reimbursement arrangements that have since changed dramatically; and

WHEREAS, Market forces tend to improve the quality of care while lowering the cost of services and lead to innovation in the health care world; and

WHEREAS, The health care system thrives on efficient and effective services that are at odds with the effects of CON laws.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT {insert state} opposes the establishment, expansion, or existence of government-imposed barriers to health care access such as Certificate of Need (CON) laws.